TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

Attending the Nagaoka Hanabi Matsuri (Fireworks Festival) has always been a travel bucket list item for me. This year, I finally managed to check this item on my list. I attended the event on both days, on the 2nd and 3rd of August 2023. With an estimated 20,000 rounds of fireworks launched into the summer night sky of Nagaoka, this is arguably one of the best fireworks display not just in Japan but probably in the world. Held along the Shinano River, this is truly the mother of all Fireworks Display for me. Here, I am sharing a couple of photos and a short 12-seconds video of part of the fireworks display. I have a lot of other clips of the fireworks, including its finale. But those will take time for me to process before I can share them in this blog. A lantern with the words " Japan's Number One Fireworks" in Japanese. Many of these lanterns were hung all over the fireworks site along the Shinano River, Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, Japan (2023) A selfie of myself looki

Israel, Tel Aviv This article was originally published in this blog in April 2017. Some may ask, why is visiting a local market even a bucket list item? The simple answer from me is that anything can be a bucket list item depending on individuals. For some, even swimming in the local lake can be a bucket list item while for others; only climbing the highest peak on earth will qualify as a bucket list item, all other stuff don't even come near. Therefore, what is a bucket list item can only be defined by the individual making his or her own list.  For me, morning markets are the heartbeats of any city. In the markets, I can observe and interact with locals, indulge in local street food, buy souvenirs and simply soak in the local atmosphere. Ever wonder why the old Tsukiji Market of Tokyo was such an attraction for tourists worldwide? The precise reasons were what I had just stated. Located in a part of Tel Aviv just steps from the Mediterranean Sea, is Carmel Market. Also known as t

Singapore, Sentosa, S.E.A. Life Sometimes, we travel far and wide in search of new experiences and new sights. But, right in our backyard, literally, are new experiences and sights that we had totally overlooked. Before I get mistaken, I am a huge proponent of international travel. I am a firm believer of the benefits of travel to far and distant lands. But, I am also an advocate in discovering experiences and sights unknown to ourselves in our own country, city, town and so on. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when international travel was more or less near impossible, I took to visiting local sites that I had never been to before. Visiting the S.E.A. Aquarium at Singapore's Sentosa resort island was one such experience. The visit left me both amazed and bewildered at the amount of sea life on display. What impressed me most were the efforts of the Aquarium to (as close as possible) present the animals in their natural environments and their efforts at encouraging conservati

UK, Scotland, Inverness, Mythical Glencoe This article was originally published in this blog in October 2017. This relatively short article was a reminisce of my first and only trip to Glencoe in 2011. ****************** The A82 is a major road that runs between the cities of Glasgow and Inverness in Scotland, UK. Famous landmarks that are located within close proximity to the A82 include Loch Lomond, Glencoe (a.k.a. Glen Coe) and Loch Ness.  Considered one of the most beautiful places in Scotland, Glencoe is surrounded by mountains in the east from the A82. The village of Glencoe is located at the foot of the valley. In Scotland, Glen usually refers to a long and deep valley with a watercourse running through it. Glencoe is named after the River Coe which runs through it. Scottish Highlands, Glencoe, Scotland, UK (2011) Passing by Glencoe on the A82 while travelling to Loch Ness from Glasgow, I listened attentively as my friendly Scottish guide shared the history of this part of the H

Switzerland, Lucerne, Magic of Lucerne This article was originally published in this blog in December 2016. While this article was not generally written in the style of the first-person narrative, it nevertheless reflects my experiences and thoughts during my visit way back in 2009. Excerpt from this blog post: "Stroll around the city and take in the sights and sounds. Be awed by this beautiful city. I took a relaxed walking tour of the city on my own and the walk "connected" me to the heartbeat that is Lucerne." ****************** The city of Lucerne is located in central Switzerland and is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne. The people in Lucerne speaks mostly German since it is located in the German speaking part of Switzerland. History and Geography Sometime in the year AD 1290, Lucerne became self-sufficient as a functioning city with a sustainable population size. Together with three other neighbouring cantons, Lucerne formed the Swiss Confederacy in the yea